Chevrolet Cruze - Korean Chevy
Chevrolet Lacetti, Cruze's ancestor was a solid family car with lots of space. Other than that, it was a Chevy in the full meaning of the word - not too smooth, roughly build, somewhat cheap (which was obvious), but it was moderately priced. Now, the Cruze fixes most of the Lacetti's faults and keeps its main advantage - the reasonable price.
First of all, Cruze is a great looking sedan - its coupe-alike sideline and aggressive light groups are well balanced together. Interior is far better than Chevrolet did (almost) ever before - dashboard has a premium class touch and feel to it. However, dashboard plastics, although of high quality, seems to be easy to scratch.Storage is pretty large too - its 450l is bit harder to reach because the rear hood opening is slightly smaller than it could have been.
A good impression gets even better when the engine is started. We have had a 1,6l Ecotec engine which is currently being used in Opel's Insignia and other models. Its 113bhp are helping Cruze reach 100km/h in 12,5s.
Chevrolet's price politics is very fair - Cruze starts at 12.500 euros which includes central lock, servo, electric windows, cd mp3 radio, 6 airbags, but for additional 1200 euros you can get ESP and an automatic AC.
Cruze is ambitious brand new model. Reasonably priced and very well built and equipped, it could be a new star for Chevy, especially in the days of crisis.